Drunkability and Hangover effects of Spirits

To the people who take their spirits seriously be it Scotch, Bourbon, Vodka and etc I wanted to know how much do you factor in the Drunkability and Hangover Effect of the drink when rating it or choosing whether you like it or not. I have read that for example Highland Park scotch is very nice but sits with the drinker well into the next morning while something like a Macallum 12yr will lift you and the next morning you should be fighting fit.?

If the next morning is going to hurt how much weight do you place on the pain?

1) one should not drink to excess.
2) one should especially not drink fine spirits to excess.
3) drinking to excess causes hangovers, not the type of spirits or the order one drinks the spirits in.

^^ BUZZKILL!

You'll have fewer issues with clear liquors.

You'll have fewer issues if you're drinking more expensive, refined, liquors. There is a difference between Vodka in the plastic Handle for $6 and Grey Goose.

I've always used Gin, even cheap gin, to keep from getting too drunk or hungover.

I think that getting drunk can and will you a hangover as it is an effect of alcohol. However, I also think that there is a personal bent to it. Personally I get more f****d up from the juice of the grape (wine, cognac) than from that of the grain (beer, whisky) given equivalent amouts. Then again, gin pretty much messes me up too as does wodka. (Tanqueray, Gordon's, stalichnaya, grey goose). Of course, getting your glasses of water in during the p1ss up helps a lot, three motrins prior to the sesh does a lot for the headache of the next morrow. And good booze messes one up much less than bad (ie. cheap) booze. But I am worth it

The different types of hooch will perhaps not cause or eliminate hangover, but will greatly affect the severity and symptoms.

I find brown liquor (whiskey, rum, etc) hangovers of reasonable quality (not some kinda brown moon shine) tends to cause tiredness, but more shakes and intestinal issues. Clear liquors (vodka, gin, etc) tend to be better on the digestive tract, but cause more headache. Cheaper clear liquors seem to cause FAR worse shakes, but the better distilled cause less, an issue of methanol levels. Beers usually aren't so bad when they are stuck to and not drastically over consumed. When that happens, it seems to cause more tiredness and digestive issues than shakes and headache. Wines seem to follow the same route, but with more headache.

More interesting kinds of liquors most people don't consume in enough quantity to get epic hang overs. Anyone want to weigh in on absinthe?

It's all based on the ratio of alcohol and water (higher in distillates, lower in ferments), fusil oils (higher in complex mash distillates, like scotches, or complex mixed distillates like gins), methanol, and other impurities.

Originally Posted by JoeWoah

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I've always used Gin, even cheap gin, to keep from getting too drunk or hungover.

Yeah Gin is a great way to not get hungover. It tastes so disgusting that you can only manage to get a tiny bit down.

Originally Posted by fcuknu

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Yeah Gin is a great way to not get hungover. It tastes so disgusting that you can only manage to get a tiny bit down.

Gin is yummy! Yummy, yummy, yummy... in my tummy!

Originally Posted by fcuknu

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Yeah Gin is a great way to not get hungover. It tastes so disgusting that you can only manage to get a tiny bit down.
Clearly, you've never had Hendrick's.

Originally Posted by JoeWoah

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Gin is yummy! Yummy, yummy, yummy... in my tummy!
I love Scotch... Scotchie, Scotch, Scotch... Here it goes down... down into my belly... mmmm, mmmm, mmm....

I've had everything from beefeater on up. Gin is ******* posion, literally.

Gin is delicious and never makes me hung over. Plymouth gin, if we want to get into brands.

Originally Posted by fcuknu

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I've had everything from beefeater on up. Gin is ******* posion, literally.

Hendricks is my favorite Gin, but I find all Gin's in general cool and refreshing. Gin and Tonic is my staple drink. My house is always stocked with both.

While this is not a spirit, India Pale Ale's or Pale Ale's in general give me terrrrrrrible hangovers. No naseau, just a side-splitting headache. I'll only drink 3 or 4 and feel like hell the next day.

+1 on the IPAs.


Mixing spirits is also a terrible idea. Unfortunately, I have woken up countless mornings with some awful, awful hangovers from starting with absolut tonics, shots of makers mark, and beers.

Just thinking about it makes me cringe.

Absolutely figure in the hangover effect! I have tried ALOT of vodkas and I can kill a bottle XO in a night with no hangover. Maybe that's not a good thing? I would recommend you try it. The vodka NOT the heroic consumption!

As I posted over here - http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.p...5&postcount=62 - regardless of the alcohol you drink, whether it's spirits, wine, or beer, don't drink anything with preservatives in it.

When you're younger you probably won't notice it but those preservatives build up in your system, and over time, as your alcohol resistance builds along with those preservatives, you'll find yourself being able to drink more, for longer, but your hangovers will get worse.

It's more likely than not the major cause of these hangovers is from dehydration, but even if you drink 1:1 glasses of water to alcoholic drinks, you'll probably find you're still having those headaches the next day.

Have a look at the label on that bottle of booze. Guaranteed, it says "Contains Preservatives". If it's wine it probably also says, "May contain traces of Milk, Eggs, Nuts", a sure sign of the quality of that cheap plonk.

I noticed a few people in here said they get major hangovers from Indian Pale Ales (IPA's), but who makes the IPA's, or just Pale Ales, you've tried?

The two brands I've tried are James Squire IPA, and Little Creatures Pale Ale. No preservatives, no bullshit, just a couple of very nice, flavourful ales.

Knappstein is another very good beer, but it is expensive compared to XXXX (crap), VB (crap), and Coopers (nice) - about AU$50 for a carton of 16 stubbies, $80 if you add two more 4 packs for a full 24-bottle-sized carton.

As far as spirits go I've had good experiences with Mount Gay Rum and Appleton's Estate (both Jamaican rums that taste more like Dimple scotch than rum), Dimple Scotch, Stolichnaya Vodka, Effen Vodka (from Holland), and Jameson's Irish Whisky.

Little tip, always store your spirits in the freezer. If they freeze, they're crap, end of story. Smirnoff is crap, a third of the bottle turns to ice in the freezer.

Nowadays I don't get hung over any more. I drink quality, and I drink it at a slow and steady pace. I get "munted", usually after ten Carlton Fusions at the pub and half a bottle of Appleton's at home, but I don't wake up feeling sick the next day. Half the time I wake still munted , and a nice big breakfast is just what I feel like having.

I also like to have a big meal of pasta before I go out for a night, either to a party or a club. It doesn't stop the alcohol affecting me, it seems to drag out the effects, making the alcohol take longer to inebriate me and then get out of my system, so I really get my money's worth.